Premium
Cytokine responses to mitogen and Schistosoma haematobium antigens are different in children with distinct infection histories
Author(s) -
Scott Janet T.,
Turner C.michael R.,
Mutapi Francisca,
Woolhouse Mark E.J.,
Ndhlovu Patricia D.,
Hagan Paul
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
parasite immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1365-3024
pISSN - 0141-9838
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3024.2001.00409.x
Subject(s) - phytohaemagglutinin , immunology , biology , cytokine , schistosomiasis , schistosoma haematobium , schistosoma mansoni , immunosuppression , antigen , schistosoma , helminthiasis , physiology , helminths , immune system
Prevalence of Schistosoma haematobium infection in children from two neighbouring villages in Zimbabwe was 77·1% and 40·3%, respectively. The age‐intensity data indicated peak intensities of infection at a lower age in the high prevalence village. This study investigated whether the difference in infection histories was reflected in a difference in cytokine profiles between children resident in these two villages. Blood samples were taken to assay for cytokine secretion 1 year after treatment for schistosomiasis. They were cultured with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), schistosome egg antigens (SEA) or cultured without stimulant and tested for the presence of interleukin (IL)‐4, IL‐5, IL‐10, granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) and IFN‐γ. Blood samples from children from the low prevalence village were more likely to produce IL‐4 ( P < 0·0001) and produced higher levels of IFN‐γ ( P < 0·02) and GM‐CSF ( P < 0·03) when cultured with PHA for 24 h. Residence in the high prevalence village was associated with production of IL‐10 ( P < 0·006) and GM‐CSF ( P < 0·04) in response to culture with SEA and IL‐5 ( P < 0·02) with PHA for 48 h . The interaction between age and village was not significant for these results; however, there was a significant interaction between age and village for IL‐5 detected in blood samples cultured with PHA for 24 h ( P < 0·01). These results concur with previous observations that major patterns of cytokine production can be related to immunosuppression, but also indicate an underlying pattern which reflects the importance of history of infection to the immune response.